TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Soldier faces probe after allegedly threatening politician in Makassar
Change text size
Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone
Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
Indonesian soldiers take part in a ceremony before traveling to Papua for deployment in security operations, at Sultan Iskandar Muda Air Force base in Blang Bintang, Aceh on Dec. 12, 2023. (AFP/Chaideer Mahyuddin)
A
non-commissioned officer in the Indonesian Military (TNI), who is the brother of a cabinet member, is in hot water after he and several other men in military uniform allegedly brandished firearms in public in an apparent attempt to threaten a politician in Makassar, South Sulawesi.
The group of men, led by Sgt. Maj. Arifuddin Sulaiman, tried to forcibly enter the home of Harmansyah, an executive of the South Sulawesi branch of the Gerindra Party, on Wednesday of last week, according to various media reports.
The incident was captured on CCTV footage and quickly went viral on social media. In the video, the men can be seen waving pistols in front of Harmansyah’s home, with civilians, including children, watching on.
In a video statement made by Harmansyah’s wife Reni, who was at home with her two children during the incident, she said that the men came to her house because they wanted to meet with Harmansyah, who was not at home at the time.
She described how Arifuddin and his accomplices, armed and aggressive, tore down her house’s fence and went right up to the front door demanding to meet her husband, causing distress to her young children.
Reni also said that Arifuddin threatened to harm and shoot Harmansyah, as well as kidnap her and her children, if they could not meet Harmansyah there and then.
Following the incident, Hasanuddin Military Command (Kodam Hasanuddin) in Makassar said that it had opened an investigation and would summon Arifuddin along with his two accomplices for questioning.
